Hoover chamber names Allen Pate winner of 2018 Freedom Award

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Hoover Veterans Committee member Mark Davis presents former Hoover Executive Director Allen Pate with the 2018 Freedom Award at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Hoover Country Club on Thursday, July 19, 2018.

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Former Hoover Executive Director Allen Pate was presented the 2018 Freedom Award at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Hoover Country Club on Thursday, July 19, 2018. He is pictured here with his wife, Edna.

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Former Hoover Executive Director Allen Pate was presented the 2018 Freedom Award at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Hoover Country Club on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Pate, center, is pictured with Hoover chamber President Jerome Morgan Jr., at left, and Hoover Veterans Committee member Mark Davis.

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The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce today honored former Hoover Executive Director Allen Pate as the winner of the chamber’s 2018 Freedom Award.

The award is given annually to a role model who promotes the ideals of freedom and supports the government and U.S. military.

Pate served two years in the U.S. Navy from June 1966 to July 1968, spending time in Vietnam with the Navy’s construction battalions, better known as the Seabees.

His military service was not the primary reason he was chosen for the Freedom Award, said Mark Davis, a member of the city’s Veterans Committee that made the choice. The primary reason Pate was chosen was because of his commitment to the community and all the work he has done over the years to support veterans since he was released from active duty, Davis said.

Pate was instrumental in the development of the Veterans Memorial Arbor at Aldridge Gardens, Davis said.

Davis led the fundraising to pay for the arbor, but Pate and former Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey committed to support the project with in-kind labor and other resources, he said.

Pate, with his construction background, was smart enough to recommend an engineering study for the dam that holds the Veterans Memorial Arbor to make sure it could hold the weight of the structure and people who might be visiting it at the same time, Davis said.

And throughout the construction process, Pate never said no when Davis asked for city assistance with the project, whether it be electrical work, gravel, construction materials or a flagpole, Davis said.

Pate was also instrumental in the development of the Veterans Memorial Plaza at Veterans Park off Valleydale Road, Davis said.

Pate, who retired in January 2017 after 29 years of service with the city, told the crowd at today’s chamber luncheon at the Hoover Country Club that he was honored to be mentioned alongside the previous winners of the Freedom Award.

Pate started his career with Brice Building Co. and then served as director of the Birmingham Carpenter Apprenticeship Training Program for 11 years. Former Gov. George Wallace made him the state’s labor commissioner from 1983 to 1987. In February 1988, he was hired by the city of Hoover to oversee construction of Hoover Metropolitan Stadium for a year, and was asked to stay on as director of operations. He spent most of his time with the city as executive director — a position similar to city manager.

He has lived in Hoover since 1969 and been married to his wife, Edna, for 54 years.